Record Retention Schedule:

Guidelines for every office document

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 Company Records: What to Keep, What to Dump

A records retention schedule ensures that an organization keeps the records it

needs for operational, legal, fiscal or historical reasons, and then destroys them
when they’re no longer useful. You may base your records retention schedule on
your own experience and research of legal mandates or on what other
companies are doing.

Whatever your method, use your retention schedule as a guide, not as an

executioner. Retain records longer if litigation, a government investigation or an
audit seems likely. In the event that a legal action does transpire, immediately
cease all disposal activities.

You have to know what you have and how long to keep it—legally and for your
own business purposes—before you can establish an efficient records
management system. That's why it's important to inventory your records and
draw up a company retention schedule.

The retention schedule below reflects standard business practices. You must
also consider state and local statutes of limitations as well as regulations of
government agencies that pertain to your business. State retention statutes vary
widely on tax, unemployment and workers’ compensation records, as well as on
environmental and other requirements. Check with your state and regional
authorities for details.

As an extra safeguard, have your CPA and your attorney review your records
retention timetable before putting it into practice.

Timetable Tips

Whether you use these guidelines or conduct your own research to establish a
retention schedule, keep the following in mind:

• Don’t be a “just in case” hoarder; store records only for legal, operational
or archival reasons.
• Retain and destroy documents systematically.
• Segment records according to a retention timetable.
• Don’t retain unscheduled temporary materials, such as drafts, reminder
notes, work sheets or extra copies.
• Don’t hang onto documents just for their sentimental or public relations
value. Information must earn its keep, like any other asset. A
comprehensive record of the past that fosters a “company memory” can
be an asset, but be sure to minimize your legal liability while doing so.

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 When No Requirements Exist . . .

What can you do if a law does not state a specific retention period? This is not
uncommon. There may not be a stated legal requirement for certain records, or
the requirement may not include a specific retention period. You may have done
a thorough search to locate certain records requirements but could not find any
law addressing your particular documents. Or you may have discovered that
certain records must be maintained, but you could not determine for how long.
Statutes and regulations often contain a phrase, “The following records shall be
maintained . . . ,” but they fail to tell you the retention period. Usually the phrase
is interpreted as meaning “permanently” because there’s no permission given for
destruction of the records.

How do you deal with this quandary? Under the Uniform Preservation of Private
Business Records Act (UPPBRA), whenever a law does not specify a retention
period, businesses should keep their records for three years. If you destroy them
sooner, you risk subjecting your organization to legal problems. However, only
eight states have adopted this act or something equivalent. Courts could certainly
require you to hold records long enough to permit the state to monitor
compliance with its regulations—a “reasonable” period of time. Based on federal
records and the UPPBRA, a three-year retention period should be sufficient.

How long should you keep records if you cannot locate any legal requirements
referring to them? Assuming your legal research was thorough, it is best to
maintain the records for three years. You must, however, document your search
effort and the assumptions you used to set the three-year period. Then, if you
missed a legal requirement during your search, you have documentation to show
the judge or regulatory agency that your organization had made a good-faith
effort to comply with the law.

RECORD RETENTION SCHEDULE

KEY: "P" = Permanent. Otherwise, figures represent suggested number of years

for retaining each type of record.

Accounting-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accounts, charged off: 7
Accounts receivable: 10
Balance sheets: 5
Bank reconcilement papers: 8
Bills collectible: 7
Bill stubs: 7
Bonds registered: P
Budget work sheets: 3
Capital stock bills of sale: P
Capital stock ledger: P
Accounts payable ledger: 7
Accounts receivable ledger: 10
Bank deposit records: 6
Bank statements: 8
Bills of sale of registered bonds: 3
Bonds canceled: 3
Bonds, sales or transfer: 15
Building permits: 20
Capital stock certificates: P
Capital stock transfer records: P

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 Cashbooks: 25 Cash receipts, disbursement records: 10
Cash sales slips: 3 Charge slips: 10
Check records: 7 Check register: 10
Checks, dividend: 10 Checks, expense: 10
Checks, paid & canceled: 9 Checks, payroll: 7
Checks, voucher: 6 Checks, warrants: P
Correspondence, accounting: 5 Correspondence, credit & collection: 7
Cost account records: 7 Customer ledger: P
Donations: 7 Drafts paid: 8
Earnings register: 3 Entertainment, gifts & gratuities: 3
Estimates, projections: 7 Expense reports, departmental: 7
Expense reports, employees: 7 Financial statements, certified: P
Financial statements, periodic: P Fixed capital records: P
General cashbook: 25 General journal: P
General journal supporting papers: P General ledger: P
Notes, canceled: 10 Note ledgers: P
Payroll register: 7 Petty cash records: 3
Plant ledger: P Profit & loss statements: P
Property asset summary: 10 Royalty ledger: P
Salespeople commission reports: 3 Stock ledger: P
Tabulating cards & magnetic tape: 1 Traveling auditor reports: 15
Trial balance, accounts receivable: 3 Trial balance sheets: P
Uncollectible accounts: 7 Work papers, rough: 2

Administrative------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Audit reports, internal: 10 Audit reports, public & government: P
Audit work papers, internal: 6 Classified docs: control, inventories,: 5
Correspondence, accounting: 5 Correspondence, advertising: 3
Correspondence, credit & collection: 7 Correspondence, technical: 10
Correspondence, general: 3 Correspondence, personal: 6
Correspondence, production: 2 Correspondence, purchase: 5
Correspondence, sales & service: 1 Correspondence, tax: 15
Correspondence, traffic: 6 Forms control: 5
Inventory cards: 3 Inventory, plant records: P
Organized charts: P Requisitions: 1
Research reports: 20 System & procedure records: P

Advertising-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Activity reports, media schedules: 5 Contracts: 6 yrs. after termination
Correspondence: 5 Drawings & artwork: P
Estimates: 2 Market data & surveys: 5
Samples, displays, labels, etc.: P Tear sheets: 3

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 Corporate-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual reports: P
Bonds, surety: 10
Capital stock ledger: P
Charters, constitution,
bylaws & amendments: P
Contracts, govt.: 6 yrs. after term.
Contracts, vendor: 6 yrs. after term.
Dividend register: P
Election ballots: 20
General cashbooks: 25
Licenses, federal, state, local: P
Records of mergers, acquisitions: P
Securities: documents of issuance,
listing & registration: P
Stock certificates, canceled: P
Stockholder minutes, resolutions: P
Stockholder reports: P
Authority to issue securities: P
Capital stock certificates: P
Capital stock transfer records: P
Contracts, employee: 6 yrs.
after termination
Contracts, union: 6 yrs. after term.
Dividend checks: 10
Easements: P
Election records, corporate: 10
Incorporation records & certificates: P
Permits to do business: P
Reports to SEC: P
Stock applications for issuance: P
Stock & stockholders’ records: P
Stockholder proxies: 10
Voter proxies: 15

Executive-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondence: 2 Policy statements, directives: P
Projects, notes: P Research reports: 20
Speeches, publications: 10

Insurance-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accident reports: 11
Claims, automobile: 10
Claims, loss or damage in transit: 7
Claims, workers’ compensation: 10
Expired policy, fidelity: 3 yrs.
Expired policy, group: 3 yrs.
Expired inspection certificates: 3 yrs.
Expired policy, life: 3 yrs.
Expired policy, property: 3 yrs.
Expired policy, workers’ comp: 3 yrs.
Appraisals: P
Claims, group life & hospital: 4
Claims, plant: P
Expired policy, accident: 3 yrs.
Expired policy, fire: 3 yrs.
Expired policy, hospital: 3 yrs.
Expired policy, liability: 3 yrs.
Expired policy, marine: 3 yrs.
Expired policy, surety: 3 yrs.

Legal-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Affidavits: 10 Charters: P
Claims & litigation of torts Copyrights: P
& breach of contract: P Mortgages: P
Patents & related data: P Trademarks: P

Manufacturing-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorities for sale of scrap: 3 Bills of material: 5

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 Blueprints: 30 Correspondence, engineering: 10
Correspondence, production: 2 Credit memoranda: 5
Credit ratings & classifications: 2 Drafting records: 8
Draftings & tracings, original: P Inspection records: 5
Inventory records: 7 Invoice copies: 7
Invoices, received: 7 Job records: 10
Journals: P Ledgers: P
Operating reports: 10 Order register: 6
Production reports: 6 Quality control reports: 5
Receipts, delivery: 3 Reliability records: P
Specifications, customer: P Stores’ issue records: 3
Time & motion studies: P Work orders: 5

Personnel-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accident reports, injury claims: 7 Applications, changes, terminations: 3
Attendance records: 4 Clock records: 4
Correspondence: 6 Daily time reports: 5
Disability & sick benefits records: 4 Earnings records: P
Employee contracts: 7 Employee service records: P
Fidelity bonds: 3 File, individual employee: 3
Garnishments: 7 Health & safety bulletins: 4
Injury frequency charts: 10 Insurance records: group, employee: 6
Paychecks: P Payroll records, after termination: P
Pension plan: P Pension plan, applications: P
Pension plan, claims: P Pension plan, correspondence: P
Rating cards: 5 Salary & rate changes: 10
Salespeople auto records: 2 Salespeople expense accounts: 4
Time cards: 7 Training manual: P
Union (collective bargaining) Withholding, exemption certificate: 3
agreements after termination: P Workers’ compensation reports: 11

Plant and Property-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appraisals: P Damage reports: 7
Deeds, titles: P Depreciation schedules: P
Inventory records: 16 Leases: P
Maintenance & repair, buildings: 10 Maintenance & repair, machinery: 5
Plans & specifications: P Plant equipment records: P
Purchase, lease records: 1 Sales: 7
Space allocation records: 2 Taxes: P
Water rights: P

Purchasing-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acknowledgments: 3 Bids, awards: 3
Contracts: 6 yrs. after termination Correspondence: 5

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 Exception notices: 6 Orders: 7
Purchase orders: 3 Purchase requisitions: 1
Quotations: 3 Receiving reports: 6
Receiving slips: 4 Vendors’ contracts: P

Sales and Marketing----------------------------------------------------------------------

Claims (loss or damage): 5
Contract progress reports:
6 yrs. after termination
Contracts, reps, agents, distributors: Correspondence: 1
6 yrs. after termination
Discount rates: 5
Invoices received: 7
Market research: P
Orders acknowledgment: 4
Price lists: P
Tax-exempt sales: 5
Complaints: 5
Contracts, customer:
6 yrs. after termination
Guarantees, warrantees: 6
Invoices, copies: 6
Mailing & prospect lists: 2
Market surveys: 5
Orders filled: 8
Shipping notices & reports: 4

Taxation---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agent’s reports: P Annuity or deferred payment plan: P
Correspondence: 20 Depreciation schedules: 3
Dividend register: P Employee withholding certificates: 8
Excise reports: 5 Exemption status: P
Inventory reports: 16 Real estate: 15
Sales & use: P Social Security: P
Tax bills & statements: P Tax returns & working papers: P

Traffic------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aircraft operating & maintenance: 10 Bills of lading: 3
Delivery reports: 3 Employee travel: 1
Export declarations: 4 Freight bills: 5
Freight claims: 5 Leases: 6
Manifests: 1 Receiving documents: 5
Routing records: 1 Shipping instructions: 6
Shipping tickets: 6 Title papers: P
Tonnage summaries: P Tracer reports: P
Vehicle inspection reports: 3 months Vehicle operation & maintenance: 4

__________________________________________________________________
Source: Records Management Handbook, Fellowes Inc., Bankers Box Storage
Products.

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